All posts tagged James Cagney

That’s right, there’s an indefinite article in that title on purpose. The ‘best moments IN cinema’ is an abstract that can be debated by numerous people and (usually) refers to the ‘best’ moments shown on camera during a film’. eg – the final scene of James Cagney’s White Heat, “Made it ma, I’m on top of the world!”, is generally regarded as one of the best moments in cinema. But, IN A cinema…..?

What we’d like to do is find out what are the moments while watching a film in a cinema that have taken your breath away. And we don’t mean while you were there with someone else in the cinema (you know what we mean), we’re talking about what you saw up on the screen blowing you away in some manner. I’ll give you an example of one of my most vivid memories in a cinema:

In the early 90s Quentin Tarantino was a God to those who loved movies. By the time he had Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction under his belt he could do no wrong. He was the Pope and you had to follow him, no matter what. So when From Dusk Till Dawn came out in ’96, and even though he didn’t direct it, you didn’t ask questions, you didn’t read reviews, you just bought your ticket, took your seat and listened to the Word.

I think that’s how I entirely missed that this was, in fact, a vampire movie. And I mean, not even an inkling, not even while watching the first half (and I seem to remember lots of people in the cinema at the time feeling the same way – mass cult delusion?) Needless to say, when the film switches, just after the Salma Hayek snake dance shown below (one of the best moments IN cinema – *ahem*), my jaw dropped and stayed dropped until I walked out of the cinema, eyes blinking in the lights, slightly bewildered but glad that so many other people had the exact same experience as I did. The way information technology is right now it’s probably an experience I will never have again. I LOVED IT.

So, that was one of mine. What’s yours……?

P.S. Did I need to put a ‘spoiler alert’ on this post? I’d hate to think I’ve deprived somebody else of the same experience…..